Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Oh DD! All the feels! What you are doing is another right thing to do, family secrets and all. Hope the hangover doesn?t last long. I?m glad you get your sister as a backup soon and can tackle this together. Such tough decisions! Reminds me of when we needed to tell on Dad to get his driver?s license taken away. It actually went much smoother than we imagined. Praying for some smoothness in your parents transitions too!

Congrats on making it through yesterday DD and doing so with some real progress. Gotta love the social worker for being the "heavy" and spelling it out. Don't feel bad for ratting out your parents because it is 1. truth and 2. for their own good. It is so good that there is a social safety net that sounds pretty functional. You are indeed good for doing the right thing even though it was not easy. And good you have brother and SIL for support. Enjoy the heck out of aussie sister and these great fall days. You deserve it.

Here in Humboldt county the rule is "ABAH". Always bring a hoodie.

Shepard's pie. Ultimate comfort food. Enjoy.

Diane S

Haha, ABAH. I now have a name for a rule I always follow. Air conditioning is a blessing and a curse. Even in the summer, I never go to the movies, or out to dinner, theater or a concert without a hoodie, cardigan or wrap.

Same here in Florida because they over air condition all the buildings. Strangely, they don't do it as much in Massachusetts during the hot summer days.

Hugs to you, DD. Doing the right thing is often not easy or comfortable. Keeping your mom's secrets would mean her not getting the help she so desperately needs. You did good!

Thanks for the warning on the Reclast. I am surprised they had you on Fosamax with a gastric sleeve. Most everything I read cautions against that and my PCP said that the oral meds would not be a good idea for me.

So sorry you had to have such an uncomfortable but really valuable meeting. My mother broke her hip in her early 60's when she fell while drinking. She was a long-term alcoholic (and a nasty one at that). We had a similar family meeting at the rehab hospital when the truth of it came out and she was told in no uncertain terms that if she drank and fell again she might never walk. It was so hard to tell the truth about her drinking for the same reasons you expressed - it was a family secret not to be told. We had a second round of that discussion when she developed congestive heart failure about 10 years later because she had sunk back into drinking though not quite as deeply. She did stop completely after that thank goodness and I enjoyed my relationship with her for her last 15 years, as did my children.

I guess I have been making cottage pie over the years and calling it shepherd's pie (I have always used beef).